CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- President Barack Obama predicted
today that his new space exploration plans would lead American astronauts
to Mars and back in his lifetime, a bold forecast relying on rockets
and propulsion still to be imagined and built.

"I expect to be
around to see it," he said of pioneering U.S. trips, first to an
asteroid and then on to Mars. He spoke near the historic Kennedy Space
Center launch pads that sent the first men to the moon, a blunt
rejoinder to critics, including several former astronauts, who contend
his planned changes will instead deal a staggering blow to the nation's
manned space program.

"We want to leap into the future," not
continue on the same path as before, Obama said as he sought to
reassure NASA workers that America's space adventures would soar on
despite the impending termination of space shuttle flights.

His
prediction was reminiscent of President John F. Kennedy's declaration
in 1961, "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving
the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and
returning him safely to Earth." That goal was fulfilled in 1969.

Obama
did not predict a Mars landing soon. But he said that by 2025, the
nation would have a new spacecraft "designed for long journeys to allow
us to begin the first-ever crewed missions beyond the moon into deep
space."

"We'll start by sending astronauts to an asteroid for the
first time in history," he said. "By the mid-2030s, I believe we can
send humans to orbit Mars and return them safely to Earth. And a
landing on Mars will follow."

Obama said he was "100 percent
committed to the mission of NASA and its future." He outlined plans for
federal spending to bring more private companies into space exploration
following the soon-to-end space shuttle program.

He acknowledged
criticism for his drastic changes to the space agency's direction. But,
he said, "The bottom line is: Nobody is more committed to manned space
flight, the human exploration of space, than I am. But we've got to do
it in a smart way; we can't keep doing the same old things as before."

Obama said the space program is not a luxury but a necessity for the United States.

He
noted that the Kennedy Space Center has inspired the nation and the
world for half a century. He said NASA represents what it means to be
American -- "reaching for new heights and reaching for what's possible"
-- and is not close to its final days.

Obama sought to explain why
he aborted President George W. Bush's return-to-the moon plan in favor
of a complicated system of public-and-private flights that would go
elsewhere in space, with details still to be worked out.

"We've been there before," Obama said of the nation's moon landings decades ago. "There's a lot more of space to explore."

He
said his administration would support continued manned exploration of
space "not just with dollars, but with clear aims and a larger purpose."

The
Obama space plan relies on private companies to fly to the space
station, giving them almost $6 billion to build their own rockets and
ships. It also extends the space station's life by five years and puts
billions into research to eventually develop new government rocket
ships for future missions to a nearby asteroid, to the moon, to Martian
moons or other points in space. Those stops would be stepping stones on
an eventual mission to Mars itself.

Addressing concerns of job
losses to space program workers, particularly in Florida, Obama said
that "despite some reports to the contrary," his plan would add more
than 2,500 jobs to the Cape Canaveral region over the next two years
than would the plan worked out by his predecessor.

"We'll
modernize the Kennedy Space Center, creating jobs as we upgrade launch
facilities. And there is potential for even more job creation as
companies in Florida and across America compete to be part of a new
space transportation industry.

"This holds the promise of
generating more than 10,000 jobs nationwide over the next few years.
Many of these jobs will be created in Florida, an area primed to lead
in this competition," he said.

Among his most vocal critics has
been Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon. Obama did not
mention Armstrong, who did not attend the speech, but he did praise
Buzz Aldrin, one of Armstrong's Apollo 11 crewmates.

Aldrin did attend the speech -- flying in with Obama on Air Force One.

Obama also said his administration would rescue a small part of the moon program: its Orion crew capsule.

But
instead of taking four astronauts to the moon, the not-yet-built Orion
will be slimmed down and used as an emergency escape pod for the space
station.

Obama spoke in the vast launch complex's Operations and
Checkout building -- the place where Orion is scheduled to be eventually
prepared for launch.

The president said, "This Orion effort will
be part of the technological foundation for advanced spacecraft to be
used in future deep space missions. In fact, Orion will be readied for
flight right here in this room."

White House science adviser John
Holdren summed up Obama's program as "a faster pace in space, more
missions to more destinations sooner at lower cost."